Pacific Coast Highway is open to drive between Malibu and Santa Monica?

At 8 this morning … the City of Los Angeles got its act together and reopened the vital state highway. 

Yesterday was a day of total official confusion … as PCH opened, closed, opened, closed, and then halfway opened.

LA police … the LA fire department … the LA Department of Transportation and especially Mayor karen Bass’s office were all pointing the finger at each other.

Malibu mayor Doug Stewart was furious. 

In a statement … he asked “what was the purpose of karen bass’s  late-Saturday night decision to close the road if it was not going to be enforced? 

“These last-minute, uncoordinated decisions create unnecessary confusion and disruption.

The Malibu mayor urged the City of Los Angeles to work collaboratively with all affected jurisdictions in the future to ensure clarity, consistency.

Malibu’s top cop .. Jennifer Seetoo … pulled down her roadblocks on Sunday morning.

She was not happy with LA City Hall.

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“We want to open up the road as soon as possible in order for people to actually get through get what they need … get our kids back in our schools … and our small businesses. 

“Our small businesses here are really struggling.”

Drivers trying to get to Santa Monica ended up in a giant traffic jam … as the road was open … then closed … by LAPD yesterday afternoon. 

Hours earlier … despite the promise from Karen Bass to close the road … it was open Sunday morning.  

But Sunday afternoon … LAPD closed it heading towards Santa Monica… while simultaneously leaving it open heading down towards Santa Monica.   The cops working the closure were befuddled when told the opposite direction was wide open.

“It is?” one cop asked a reporter.  “Let me call my supervisor.”

Hours of confusion yesterday … and uncertainty this morning.

Bass is already under heavy criticism for the lack of preparation by LA city fire before the Palisades Fire. 

Now … add indecision and confusion of PCH reopening to that.

NWS Backing Off Predictions For 3 Inches Of Rain By Friday

The very latest computer runs are showing less than three inches of rain may fall in Malibu by Friday.

Two storms will bring widespread rain and gusty winds to the area … the first starting tomorrow night into Wednesday morning, and then again Thursday afternoon into Friday.

There is a small chance of a downpour .. intense rain that could send mud down streets from Malibu Canyon Road east to the Palisades … 

Todd Hall is the senior meteorologist for the National Weather Service. 

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“Overall, with this storm, there’s a high likelihood that the storm will just bring a light-to-occasionally-moderate rainfall that is beneficial to the area, but there is a 10 to 20% chance those higher rates could cause flooding and mud and debris flows.”

The first storm will hit from late Tuesday into Wednesday.

After a brief windy respite from the rain, on Thursday afternoon through Friday, a second storm system will sweep across the region. 

This system will have a greater southerly flow component – more rain for Malibu than the first storm.    

Orographic enhancement, where rain clouds smash into the moutnains and shed water, may bring another 2 inches of rain for south-facing slopes including the Malibu.

That was the original forecast 

If you do get a flood watch … and you live in a burn area … get out. 

There local National Weather Service remembers 27 peioopke getting killed by sudden mudflows just up the coast in Omntecito … 6 years ago. 

If you get a flood -warning-  it’s too late. 

Again … Todd Hall at theNational Weather Service. .

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“If you’re asked to evacuate your home, please do so.

“We we can only … this could be a rapidly intensifying situation where we could end up seeing these higher rates.

“It is much easier to see fires. This is deceiving because you can see fires coming at us, but you cannot see floods in the dark. 

“If you live near a recent burn scar, and you receive a flash flood warning, via your radio or your device, please do not decide to evacuate then.

“Head to the highest place in your home and shelter in place.”

The peak of the storm will occur from Tuesday night into Wednesday.

We will see there quarters to one inch of rain during this first storm.

But the LA region has a big amount of uncertainly with the forecast … due to

the slow movement of the system.

There is a 40 percent chance that rainfall amounts will only range from one quarter to one half inch from this first wave of the storms. 

The very latest computer models show less rain is likely than what was predicted yesterday. 

Rainfall totals are coming in around one inch possible on the coastal slopes. 

But there is a chance or brief heavier rainfall rates with this system … and there remains a 10 percent chc of a heavy shower or TSTMs.

Largest Debris Cleanup In LA History Continues

Meanwhile … the largest debris cleanup in county history continues. 

County workers were clearing muddy goop out of debris basins east of Malibu all weekend. 

5 million tons of debris needs to be moved in the Malibu mountains and above Altadena. 

Mark Pestrella is director of LA County Puboiuc Works.. which is getting ready thousands of sand bags.

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“Public Works crews are also clearing catch basins, storm drains and channels in advance of the next storm. 

“We’re installing compost socks and straw wattles … placing these around burned private properties to filter and retain debris in flow control using devices, slow water and channels.

“In-channel flow control to allow debris to settle in channels … allowing debris to settle so it can be removed between storms. 

“We want tough public to be aware, and this is the other thing other task at hand: preparing the community for what’s coming. “

Yesterday … heavy county trucks were hauling the muck out onto PCH … then up to piles on the side of Kanan Dume Road near the tunnels. 

The dirt will be stored there for several week or months … until it dries out and can be permanently put into fill areas.

County flood experts have been hauling muck to those drying areas for decades … and the trucks are specially built with heavy duty brakes for steep canyon roads. 

In the burn area … like the Malibu Civivc Center … the county will send workers to your house or business … workers with sandbags and rescue equipment.

The number to call is 800 675-HELP

City Council To Get EPA Report on Hazmat Cleanup At 12:30 pm Today

The issue of the U-S government workers taking hazardous waste to a loading station … at the old Topanga Ranch Motel site … has stirred emotions in Topanga Canyon. 

And now comes a report that a similar waste loading station may be located at the Malibu Civic Center. 

Councilman Bruce Silverstein says the EPA is looking to use the cement-covered lot at the corner of Webb Way and Civic Center Way as a “Staging Site” to sort, store, and pack hazardous waste material removed from burned properties as a part of the Phase 1 clean-up process. 

EPA officials did not ask for local government permission to set up their staging and repacking site at Topanga Beach … and some locals down there are infuriated. 

Silverstein says it’s his opinion that setting up a similar operation at the Civic Center cannot be done without direction from the city council

Silverstein also says they need Coastal Commission approval … even though the governor has removed the Coastal Commission from the permitting process in the Malibu fires area. 

Silverstein says Coastal approval is needed because he appealed use of that lot by Southern California Edison after the Woolsey Fire.

That appeal has been sitting at the Coastal Commission for six years … while they examine whether there was any violation of Coastal Law.

Silverstein said the city council cannot give permission for the EPA to set at the corner of Webb Way at Civic Center Way … because it’s not on the agenda. 

The current state of emergency … not to mention the fact that the federal government is not always bound by the Coastal Commission rules during an emergency  … plus the fact that the governor has suspended Coastal enforcement … all that may be problematical for his argument.

The city has put out a statement that they understand the concerns about the potential for environmental contamination at the EPA collection sites.

Also … that EPA staging areas are lined with plastic, with spill control measures in place to prevent anything from leaving the site.

There is continuous air monitoring.

The EPA hazmat depot is at the site of the old Topanga Ranch Motel… and across the creek to the west … at the at the site of the former Rosenthal Wine Bar, Colada restaurant and Wylie’s bait shop.

Those landmark businesses were destroyed in the fire.

EPA Track Record On Fire hazmat Cleanups Appears Unblemished

So basically … we are being asked to trust the EPA.

What is their track record???
The agency was in charge of hazmat removal at the big fire in Lahaina, Hawaii.

Also …  huge fires in Santa Rosa … Napa … and Ventura in the past 10 years.

They were in charged of cleaning up hazmat in Paradise. 

And notably … they were in charge 6 years ago in Malibu … when 480 houses burned in there Woolsey Fire. 

We were here. Watching the Woolsey Fire cleanup.

We saw no mistakes.

We have scoured the internet for any allegations of EPA mistakes at all those other fires. 

None.

At Lahaina … they did the job in 115 days.

This job is six times bigger.

And the president is giving them 30 days. 

How did 5 thousand to 10 thousand gallons of raw sewage spill into the ocean west of Broad Beach on Thursday??

We still do not know … five days after LA County reported the spill. 

Public Health closed the ocean to public entry from the middle of Broad Beach west to Encinal Canyon Rd 

All they will say is that the spill impacted both the asphalt and surrounding beach, including the ocean water and sand. 

But they will not offer any information about the source. 

Nobu Sues City, Accuses Malibu Township Council and 2 Council Members Of Bullying

Nobu restaurant has sued the City of Malibu … in connection with the deadly car crash that killed a man on the 4th of July.

In a 57 page lawsuit obtained by KBUU News Sunday … Nobu wants a court order to force Malibu to undo its revocation of the Temporary Use Permit that was granted … and then revoked … for the 4th of July party held at Nobu.

The lawsuit will be discussed by the Malibu City Council today at 11.

The restaurant claims they had properly taken out a city permit for the booze-soaked party and had complied with every condition of approval. 

The city revoked the temporary use permit just before the party started … because one of the permit requirements was that Nobu come up with a satisfactory traffic management plan … 

The city claims it had failed to do so as required.  Nobu says that position is “inexplicable.”

They claim the city rejected the traffic plan and revoked the permit in what they call “a politically charged and orchestrated ambush from a group of residents in concert with influential City officials, including two City Councilmembers and a Planning Commissioner.”

Those residents include members of the Malibu Township Council … and council members Bruce Silverstein and Steve Uhring.

Says the Nobu lawsuit … “These opponents pressured the City to declare the Temporary Use Permit invalid for pretextual reasons. The record also shows that the opponents …  forced the Planning Director’s and Planning Department’s (actions) through verbal abuse, bullying, and threats.”

Nobu says the issue is bigger than the paltry fine it got for the illegal party.

They say the city is using the supposedly “erroneous” TUP Citation as a basis for amending or even revoking the (city permit) that governs Nobu’s restaurant operations.

Nobu is facing a multimillion dollar lawsuit filed by the widow of Martin Okeke … the rideshare driver who was killed when a car driven by party patron Summer Wheaton careened across the center lanes into his car. 

Wheaton has not been formally charged of any crime .. as the case remains under investigation. 

The Nobu lawsuit claims a series of blunders by Malibu city staff … from city manager Steve McClary on down … rendered the attempted revocation of the city permit … void.

KBUU received the lawsuit over the weekend.

There has been no time yet to seek comment from those named. 

Today at 11 … the city council will go into executive session .. behind closed doors … to review the claims.

The public may offer public comments before the executive session.

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